Google releases Play services v6.5 with updated APIs

Google has announced that it is updating the Play services framework on Android. In a blog post on Monday, Ian Lake, who is a developer advocate at Google, wrote that Google is rolling out Play services v6.5, which brings new features in the APIs for Google Maps, Google Drive and Google Wallet and Google Fit.

Google notes that Android app developers will be able to use the updated APIs to further streamline the Google product integration in their apps.

The Play Services version 6.5 is rolling out now to Android devices worldwide and as soon as the roll-out is done, Google will release the SDK as well as documentation. You can read more about the upcoming API update at Android Developers blog.

Google to deprecate AppState API in Play Games

In related news, Google has announced it has decided to deprecate the Play Games’ cloud-saving service AppState API in favour of the already available and better “Saved Games” feature (aka “Snapshots).

The search giant is urging the game developers, who are still saving the user game states using AppState API, to migrate to “Saves Games.”

“If you haven’t yet added Saved Games to your game, now would be the perfect time! The holidays are coming up and your players are going to start getting new devices over the next couple of months. Wouldn’t it be great if they could take your game’s progress with them? Unless, I guess, “not retaining users” is part of your business plan,” Todd Kerpelman, who is a developer advocate at Google, wrote in a blog post.

You can read about how to make the change and other details at Android Developers blog.